“Today I would like to encourage the initiatives and efforts of all those who, having a heart of peace, are trying to help Israelis and Palestinians agree to sit down together and talk.”

He prayed God would help sustain the dedicated efforts of these “courageous builders of peace.”

The Pope’s appeal came just two days after he had called for an immediate end to hostilities and offered prayers for the numerous victims.

“The dramatic news arriving from Gaza demonstrates how the refusal of dialogue can lead to situations of untold suffering for populations that are once again the victims of hatred and war,” the Pope said at his noon blessing at the Vatican Jan. 4.

His comments came as Israel sent troops and tanks into Gaza while continuing air and artillery shelling against targets in the Palestinian territory. Palestinian medical officials said more than 650 Palestinian civilians, including at least 100 women and children, had been killed in the offensive as of Jan. 7. Four Israeli civilians and one soldier were reported killed in the first 11 days of fighting.

“War and hatred are not the solution to problems, which is confirmed by recent history,” the Pope said. He urged Israeli and Palestinian authorities to take immediate action to “put an end to the present tragic situation.”

Israel began its offensive Dec. 27 in an attempt to stop Hamas rocket attacks into southern Israel. Hamas is the Palestinian paramilitary organization that runs the Gaza Strip.

Honduran Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga, president of Caritas Internationalis, also called for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip to allow the wounded and their physicians to reach the region’s hospitals.

“Caritas calls for action from the United States, the European Union and the international community to press for an immediate ceasefire to enable the sick and wounded to be treated,” said the cardinal, the archbishop of Tegucigalpa, in a statement Jan. 5.

Caritas Internationalis, the umbrella organization for 162 national Catholic charities, also called for the immediate opening of two more crossings into the Gaza Strip so that medical and other aid can reach the region’s people.

The Caritas statement quoted Claudette Habesch, secretary-general of Caritas Jerusalem, as saying: “Our staff in Gaza are witnessing a collapse of medical services. People are dying in their homes because they can’t get treatment.”

Rodriguez noted that more than 100 innocent civilians, including children, have been killed and thousands have been injured since Israel began its offensive.

Food, medicine and other relief items already were lacking because of the 18-month-long Israeli blockade of Gaza, Caritas said.

Caritas Internationalis is providing primary medical services through Caritas Jerusalem and Holy Family parish in Gaza City, the statement said. A medical centre and a series of aid stations remained operational, although with difficulty, but the mobile clinic has had to remain stationary.